Featured

Despite the many books on preaching, bad homiletical models of expository preaching still exist. They come from various sources and are influenced by a variety of factors. Often it is not the model itself that is at fault, but the use made of it. They include:
1. The Puritans
With ...
Keep Reading

John Calvin’s third rule of prayer was that we must always pray with genuine feeling. Prayer is a matter of passion: “Many repeat prayers in a perfunctory manner from a set form, as if they were performing a task to God . . . They perform the duty from custom, because their minds are meanwhile cold, and they ponder not what they ask.”
Keep Reading

For John Calvin, prayer was like a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people.
Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key to prayer is a spirit of reverence and adoration: “Let the first rule of right prayer be, to have our heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God.”
Keep Reading

You've probably read a good number of books, but how many have you written? Over the course of his ministry, Dr. R.C. Sproul has written more than seventy titles ranging from commentaries to children's books. He has tackled the issues of suffering, worship, the atonement, prayer, the Holy Spirit, apologetics, predestination, philosophy, and many more.
2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the first printing of one of Dr. Sproul's most notable titles, The Holiness of God. We have put together a timeline of Dr. Sproul's books, so you can see which ones you've read and which ones you should add to your bookshelf.
Keep Reading

It is my contention that we spend far too little time thinking through issues of teleology, the study of end or purpose or design. We prefer to leave these questions unexamined, and thus move through our lives less than deliberately. That said, this question comes with at least a potential danger, turning the Christian faith at best, and God at worst into a means to an end. Marva Dawn wisely described worship as a “royal waste of time.” It is royal because we are praising the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. It is a “waste of time” because such worship serves no other end, but is the ultimate end of all things.
Keep Reading

Henry Cabot Lodge once asserted, “Nearly all the historical work worth doing at the present moment in the English language is the work of shoveling off heaps of rubbish inherited from the immediate past.” What we need, in other words, is not so much “a new perspective” as a very old one. What we need is to recover a memory of those great men and movements obscured by the fashions and fancies of the moment.
Keep Reading

My friend Tom Howard, composer of "Scenes from the Life of Christ," died suddenly late last month. Tom was a respected and influential musician in Nashville, a faithful Christian man, and a talented composer. Upon hearing the news, my thoughts eventually drifted toward the privilege of producing this music project recently with him for Ligonier.
Keep Reading

Moving Ligonier to a modern campus to support its ongoing teaching ministry and the new educational programs is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever worked on. Even as the dust from commercializing the new buildings is stirred up I am reminded of the foundation being laid for future generations. And so, in accord with Dr. Sproul’s vision for ongoing doctrinal reformation in the church and culture, we pray that Ligonier Academy and our new campus will be used of God to combat liberalism in the church and secularism in society.
Keep Reading

There is still another vital aspect to the “why” of Jesus’ departure. He said, “If I do not go away, the Helper (Paraclete) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” Jesus’ departure was tied to Pentecost. There is no Pentecost without ascension. As the invested King of kings, Jesus had the authority together with the Father to send His Holy Spirit in a new and powerful way upon the church. Jesus spoke of a certain necessity of His leaving in order for the Spirit to come. Herein was another great advantage. He declared, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you” (Acts 1:8, KJV).
Keep Reading

Imagine an earthly situation where the heir-apparent to the throne meets with his closest friends on the eve of his own coronation. The new king’s friends would hardly desire that the king skip his own coronation. There is no greater benefit to the new king’s friends than that he ascends to the throne.
Keep Reading

Saturday, February 13th is Dr. R.C. Sproul's birthday. We recently sent out a letter asking you to share a word of greeting, thanks or encouragement to Dr. Sproul. Here are a few of those responses.
Keep Reading